Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Sacrifice (excerpt)

The Game is Afoot

It's a good thing I had to pee
before we started up the hidden stairs to head into battle, because
by the time I got back to the group waiting at the base of the stairs
our plan was changing. And a good thing it was. Evidently Gladys
was the one who brought up the likelihood Pink's life no longer was
necessarily valuable to anyone but himself.

“Look at it this way,” she
argued. “Nigeria wants him alive because he's the only one who
knows how to make the enhanced Vulcana, which they want so they can
blackmail the developed countries, the oligarchies. That was my job,
to get him safely to Nigeria. You can bet Wilde Labs has no interest
in the enhanced formula. Their only interest is profits. They think
I can make the basic stuff, which is where the money is. They don't
need Pink, long as they've got me.”

“What if they think you're
dead?” This was Joan.

“A lot depends on how much
Hendrian knows,” said Gladys. “He hired Chesapeake, but he might
not know Elliot's dead. There's got to be some confusion in the
ranks. The zombies are just kids. They don't know shit, except for
the head zombie, who's probly Kelleher, their chief operations
officer. This is their first field op. I can see Kelleher leading
the team. I can see him taking Elliot down, too. Those two never
got along.”

“What we need to know is
whether Kelleher - if that's who it is - is more than a tactical
commander,” said Joan. “If Elliot was the contact point with
Hendrian, Kelleher might have killed the critical link in his chain
of command. Those zombies may not know who to shoot and who to
protect.”

“When in doubt, shoot. That's
how we train,” said Ashmore.

“Lemme see if I got this
right,” I said. “Our goal is to get to Hendrian without losing
anybody. We think Hendrian's interested only in the basic formula,
so he doesn't need Pink. All he needs is Gladys, unless he thinks
Gladys is dead. Gladys, did the head zombie ever see you?”

“Not that I know of, Al. I got
here before the zombies arrived. Came back dressed as a courier.
Said I was from Wilde's main office. Nobody recognized me and I
pretty much stayed in the lab until Elliot got here.”

“Hard to imagine anyone who
knew you not recognizing you, Gladys,” I said.

“Well, thank you, Al, I'm sure,
but I'm pretty good with disguises. I'll bet I could have fooled
even Mr. Pinkerton.” She shot a grin Pink's way, which he ignored.

As our resolve began wavering I
expected Pink to have second thoughts about volunteering to approach
a zombie unarmed and attempt to wrestle him into position for a dart
shot to an armpit from Cromwell. If he was reconsidering this
audacity, he gave no sign, and instead pushed us closer to accepting
the plan.

“Nobody knows what the fuck's
going on. That's what I think,” Pink said, surprising me out of
some intense wondering what alternatives we might have.

“They're just gamer punks.
Maybe they've seen a photo of me and maybe of Gladys, but after what
just happened all they're doing is trying to catch us and protect
Hendrian. They're not gonna deliberately kill anybody, unless
Hendrian tells them to. The leader killed Elliot because Elliot was
acting crazy, it sounds like. The other zombie killed the other guy
because the other guy shot him. The kid'd probly never been shot
before. He panicked. That's what I think.”

“So you're still willing to do
this, Pink?” I said.

“What else can we do? We keep
blasting them with guns, they're gonna boil our guts with their
killer rays. They're wearing armor, but it still hurts to get shot.
It'll scare the shit out of them and piss them off.”

“Where do you want me in all of
this?” asked Dr. Knoe.

Cromwell responded: “I'll need
a little cover, because I'll be the only one with a gun. They see
that and they're liable to shoot without thinking.”

“I'll be your cover, Tony,”
said Gladys. We all turned to look at her. She was smiling. “These
are teenage nerds, remember? Probly virgins.” She started
disrobing. “I'll be flashing those boys like crazy, and they'll be
too busy watching my little show to see anything else.”“Good idea,” said Dr. Knoe,
who started taking her clothes off, too. “But we should wear
something. Bathrobes would be good. If we're completely nude these
kids might feel intimidated. We can't risk that. If we look like
we're on our way to take a shower that'll interest them as well as
confuse them.”

“What if they're gay?” This
was Gladys.

“It won't matter that much,”
said Dr. Knoe. “They'll still be fascinated if we show them a
little skin.”

“I'll show 'em some skin, too,”
said Pink, starting to undress.

“What about the rest of us?”
I asked.

“Al, you'll be behind with me.
Bring the shotgun. We'll need the rest of you in reserve,” said
Joan.

“You'll be naked, too?” I
blurted, without thinking. She gave me a stern look.

“No, Al, they won't need that
much nudity. I might as well be a shadow in these dark clothes, and
I will be armed. Anthony and Ashmore will stay behind, out of sight
in case any other zombies show up.

“We don't know how effectively
they communicate in those suits, but we have to assume they're in
touch with each other all the time. If we're right and Kelleher's
guarding Hendrian with one of the zombies, and one is out back, then
we can assume there are two more who could come from somewhere if
things get wild. You can shoot them with the shotguns and keep them
occupied until Pink and Cromwell can get to them with darts.

“This is a pretty good plan,
allowing for something to go wrong, and you know something always
goes wrong.”

Pink spoke up, “I'll have a
hypo with me so when I get to my guy I'll jab the needle into his
armpit. Tony won't hafta worry about missing it or hitting me. If I
get the leader, we might not hafta worry about the others at all.”

“How long before the drug takes
effect?” Cromwell asked.

“They get the erection almost
instantly,” said Pink. “That distracts them and then what seems
like a heavy acid trip is upon them in a minute.”

“A minute? That can be a
looong time in a firefight,” Cromwell cautioned.

“OK. Not that long. A few
seconds, they get this major rush. Their thoughts come tumbling out.
They're stoned.”

“Good. Thanks, Pink.”

Gladys fetched her bathrobe from
the room in the back and brought a raincoat for Dr. Knoe.

“Bathrobe would be better,”
Dr. Knoe said. “Doesn't Pink have one?”

Pink shook his head. “Never
owned one. I have a really big bath towel. That work?”

Dr. Knoe grinned. “Better than
nothing.”

Ready as we would ever be, then,
we launched our strike creeping up the stairs into Cromwell's supply
closet.